FIRST TIME: Phil Hughes has not faced Tampa Bay this season. The Rays have hit him in the past — team average of .333 against him — and Carlos Pena in particular has had success, going 2-for-3 with two home runs. That said, all of those numbers are based on pretty tiny sample sizes.

WAITING FOR NO. 600: Alex Rodriguez is 4-for-8 with two home runs in his career against Rays starter Wade Davis.

LEFT ON LEFT: According to Elias, Robinson Cano is the first Yankees left-handed hitter to have double digit home runs vs. LHP in back-to-back seasons since Reggie Jackson in 1979 and 80. Cano has 11 homers off lefties this year, tied with Albert Pujols for the most in the majors.

UPDATE, 7:14 p.m.: Six pitches into the game, the Yankees have a 2-0 lead. Derek Jeter lead off with a single, then Nick Swisher hit the first pitch he saw for a two-run homer, his 19th of the season.

UPDATE, 7:30 p.m.: Carlos Pena has hit Hughes in the past, but Hughes got the best of him in the first inning, getting a strikeout to strand Longoria at first. Still 2-0 Yankees.

UPDATE, 7:48 p.m.: Another big strikeout by Hughes to strand Upton at second.

UPDATE, 8:14 p.m.: So far so good for Hughes, who has a shutout through four innings. That 2-0 lead stands.

UPDATE, 8:27 p.m.: That’s Gardner’s fourth steal in six games, and his 30th of the season. It came after multiple pick-off attempts and on a pitch out. The guy is fast.

UPDATE, 8:53 p.m.: Robinson Cano gets the first Yankees hit since the first inning, but in the process, sends a chunk of the bat into the crowd. Looks like it hit someone directly in the head. Lots of medical attention.

UPDATE, 8:59 p.m.:Evan Longoria has a great at-bat song. Not so much because it’s a great song, just because it works really well for at-bat music. Cool rhythm. Loud guitars. And oddly enough, some well placed violin. I like it because it’s not instantly familiar, so Rays fans probably know it only as Longoria’s AB music.

UPDATE, 9:06 p.m.: Matt Joyce just clobbered a ball to right field for a three-run homer. It looked like a 2-2 cutter that Hughes left up. It’s now a 3-2 Rays lead.

UPDATE, 9:09 p.m.: Hughes gets strikeout to end the sixth just as Chamberlain is starting to get loose in the bullpen.

UPDATE, 9:17 p.m.: Joel Sherman says he’s hearing Mark Melancon and Jimmy Paredes are going to Houston. Sounds about right. Astros get a guy who seems to need a change of scenery, and a hit-or-miss young guy.